I will be keeping a reading journal through google docs which can be found here.
For August 24
Bushman pre-reading:
I think young adult literature is literature written for teenagers about teenagers.
After reading:
The term "teenager" is very broad and what is acceptable for an 18-year-old to read is not necessarily appropriate for a 12-year-old to read. I like how Bushman explains Kohlberg's and Piaget's theories as being intertwined, as if they are different sides of the same coin. Teenagers will experience intellectual, emotional, and moral growth but every person will not experience this growth the same way or at the same time.
Comment: So, how are you defining young adult literature then? Keep in mind that the term young adult -- adolescent -- is somewhat distinct from teenager. I think you're wise to realize that developmental levels described in B & H are important, along with the levels of literary appreciation. I look forward to seeing how your define YAL and also to how your definition evolves over the semester. Best, Dr. Y
American Born Chineseby Gene Luen Yang
I've never read a graphic novel before because the pictures always distracted me. In a way that still happens. I want to skip over the "action scenes" and jump straight to the normal words on the page.
This story is awesome and hilarious. The Monkey King has some incredible sass face going on. In one square he reminds me of Mojojojo from the Power Puff Girls tv show. Everyone is so dramatic, too. The older Chinese lady at the herbalist's store deadpans when she says, "Anyone can be what they want as long as you forfeit your soul." Who says those kinds of things to a child? But on other hand, she's right in a way. But I can tell from his facial expression the young boy is thinking about it in a literal sense, not a metaphorical sense.
The way the teacher introduces him to the class by calling him a different name, saying he came "ALL the way from China" is terrible. But it's true. A lot of people think of Asians in that light. And the fact that he and the only other person who wasn't mainstream-American-white had to avoid each other was depressing.
Comment: Gene's novel is so, so brilliant -- the interwoven stories that -- as you suggest -- can seems so simplistic on one level, but are actually quite sophisticated in getting at the American born Chinese YA experience. I hope you enjoy the rest of the book and seek out another graphic narrative to add to your book list!
Comment: Not seeing your response(s) to the history of YAL reading and prompts...
For September 7 Pre-reading: I usually choose what to read based on genre and similarities to authors I've read in the past. But if I'm reading something not a part of my favorite genre, I take several things into consideration. If I'm at a physical bookstore (like Barnes and Noble), where and how is the book being displayed? Is it up front when you first walk in, or on a shelf prominently displayed alongside well-know authors? (Similar to the "If you liked X, you'll love these books"). I'll also look it up on amazon and read reviews before buying it (and checking to see if I can get it cheaper on my kindle). Sometimes the cover sticks out; the artwork is nicely done or different in some way. For others, the snippet on the back of the book or inside cover is really intriguing. If I don't finish reading the little snippet, I won't buy the book at all. Once I've decided to read the book, I have to be reeled in, hook, line, and sinker, within the first chapter or so. For example, my husband and I decided to read the Wheel of Time series. The prologue was amazing. It grabs your attention right from the beginning and you have so many questions that all demand answers so you keep reading. Who is this guy? Is he some god? He has some kind of magical powers, but what kind? Did he kill his wife? Does she come back to life again?? Why is there suddenly a feud going on?? But then you get to the first chapter and all of that is lost. I couldn't make it through the first chapter because the author had completely changed gears topically and in his writing style. Now, he was focusing on some no-named farmer (you literally do not find out his name in the first chapter) and his journey to...God know's where. It's full of minute details of the scenery of a dirt road of all places. The most useless first chapter I've ever had the misfortune to meet. I'm completely turned off from the rest of the series even though I know it's supposed to brilliant and one of my favorite authors finished the stories when Robert Jordan passed away. A book can't gain my trust and then betray it in the first chapter like that. Bad form, Jordan. Very bad form.
Post-reading: When choosing books for my students, I don't want to find books that I like, but books that resonate with them. Just because I enjoy a book or get something out of it, doesn't mean my students will. I think looking at books from a middle schooler's perspective will be hard for me, at least until I get to know my students. But I hope they will give me clues as to what they enjoy or offer suggestions as to what we could read/learn about. I normally choose books to read because I want to relax and escape real life; I end up reading a lot of fantasy novels. But teenagers are in a different stage of life and want more realist stories to show them they aren't alone in the world, that someone else is going through the same problems as they are, and possibly show them ways to handle anything going on in their lives. It's important to first realize why students read before deciding what they will read.
Comment: I wouldn't discount teenagers wanting to read to read fantasy and to escape reality as well -- I don't think that is limited to adults! It was a motivation for me -- to escape a very dysfunctional family situation, and I know that is true for many young adults -- fantasy is one of the most popular and best-selling genres. Along with wanting to realize why students read, I think you're going to want to prepare yourself for why students DON'T read. And, along with that, prepare yourself for how you're going to try and change that -- in other words, how are you going to create the terms for them to want to read and to provide good models and options for them to choose to read.
For September 14:
This is probably going to be controversial, but I disagree with both the authors' goal of the ELA classroom and Rosenblatt's theory (to a degree). It's not my job to make my students love literature and turn them into reading machines. If that happens, great! But, realistically, I know that not everyone loves reading or writing and while I can teach these students, I won't necessarily be able to make them lovers of literature. As for Rosenblatt, she's right in the sense that everyone brings something different to the table when reading a book, but we can't let these experiences or emotions overpower the author's intent. But as long as our interpretations aren't off-the-wall, we're fairly safe. I liked all of the classroom strategies mentioned as ways to elicit responses from students, particularly the Socratic circles and role-playing/acting out scenes. Activities like these get students, especially middle schoolers, out of their seats and moving around, which helps them engage more.
Comment: I hope you'll come to reconsider your job as you describe it above. If it is not the job of an ELA teacher to help students develop a love of reading and writing then whose job is it? Whether you want to be or not, you're going to be faced with the reality of motivating students to want to read and write -- reader response is the place to start with helping cultivate that motivation. Without it, there is no real transaction between the reader and the text, and if it is just the text that is held up as what is important, what buy in does a student have? Especially if they have not had the benefit of a home situation in which reading and writing have been valued prior to their showing up in your class? ELA teachers need to provide the way in for students, and reading and writing -- literacy -- is the way in for students when we think of their becoming a critical thinker, empowered human being, and productive member -- active member -- of a democratic society. So, if not that, what is the goal of the ELA classroom?
Reply: I wasn't clear about my opinion of reader response theory. I understand that it's like everyone reading the same text with different colored glasses. It's going to look different to me with my blue lenses than it will to you with your green ones. And that's fine and helpful. What I want to stay away from is trying to pull something out of the text that isn't there just because I want it to be there. For example, I had a teacher in high school who swore that William Carlos Williams' poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" was somehow about Jesus because we were in the deep rural South where everything was some how about Jesus even if it wasn't. He was one of those teachers who tested us on our knowledge of his opinion and when we tried to argue that perhaps the poem isn't about Jesus because Jesus isn't anywhere in that text, he shut us down. Reader response theory is fine as long as we don't put Jesus somewhere He clearly isn't. That's all I meant.
As to the goal of the ELA classroom, my view still stands, especially now that I'm in an actual ELA classroom. It's not realistic to assume all of my students will love reading and I don't think it's very realistic to think that many of them will leave my classroom loving it. Do I hope that my efforts will grow them as readers and writers? Yes. Do I hope they at least enjoy my class? Yes. Will I do my best to offer them books and assignments that are more their style? Yes. Does that mean that will make them all head-over-heels in love with reading? Not necessarily. My personal goal as an ELA teacher is to show them that reading and writing are the two most important things they will ever learn in school, that they are crucial to our 21st century world, and that they need to be able to use them well in order to accurately communicate with other people. In doing that, I want to teach them critical thinking skills, how to communicate effectively, and open their minds to viewpoints they haven't seen before. If, at the end of all of that, they walk away loving reading, great! If not, my feelings won't be hurt.
For September 21:
In middle school, I remember reading The Diary of Anne Frank, Kidnapped, The Clay Marble, and a book I've forgotten the name of, but it was about a boy who got caught humming during the national anthem. He lied and said he was humming along, and it erupted in his face. There was a big trial, and eventually he moved to a new school where the kids sang the national anthem every morning; he finally admitted he didn't know the words. Kidnapped was awful because no one could understand the older language it was written in. For The Clay Marble, we made pop-up books, but I remember wondering why we were making them. I've forgotten the activities that went with the other books we read (along with the other books we read; these were all from seventh grade). Looking back on these books, almost all of them could be categorized as YA books, but I didn't get much out of them. I honestly learned more from the books I read on my own than I did the ones we read for class, and a big part of that was the fact that I read them for me. Nobody was forcing me to read or discuss or pick them apart. I read books like The Giver,The Hero and the Crown, The Blue Sword, and A Child Called It series all on my own. Those were the books that changed me, that made me love reading, and eventually pursue teaching. Remembering my own experience in school, I want my students to have a different view of the classroom. I want them to have choice, either through the curriculum or as an outside-of-class reading. I want to give them opportunities to read and research topics that deal with problems they're going through, answer real life questions with real life answers, and show them that they can enact change no matter how old (or young) they are. I like the idea of using thematic units because I can incorporate many different genres and authors who all deal with the same issue, giving my students variety in what they read. As for activities, anything that gets them up and moving around will be helpful. Middle schoolers especially don't last long sitting at a desk so they can move around in groups, build board games, act out scenes or film a commercial for their text.
For September 28:
We did more reading that writing when I was growing up. I vaguely remember a few writing assignments in middle school, one specifically on Anne Frank, but that was about it. These were in-class assignments and they weren't workshopped. There wasn't any feedback given so we could edit or revise. In my AP 12th lit class, we were simply given a score of 1-9 (based on how our essays would be scored on the AP exam), but that's it. Timed, in-class writing with just a number. I understand that teachers are busy and have a lot of papers to grade, but if you're going to give a writing assignment, you have to give me something other than a grade. Grades don't help me learn; they're just an arbitrary number that could mean anything to the teacher. I need context for that grade, and that comes in the form of feedback. I didn't learn how to interact with a text properly or how to write until college. I'm amazed I've made it this far in my academic career.
For November 2: Chapter 16 from Teaching Young Adult Literature: I read chapter 16, “Pushing the Edge of Possibility: A New Look at Integrating Technologies with Young Adult Literature Across Content Areas” from Teaching Young Adult Literature. Mulholland makes the point that YAL, while traditionally used in the ELA classroom, would be beneficial across grade levels and content areas. She states that, “reading and building literacy skills [are] central to learning,” so we should encourage and teach these skills across content areas through YAL novels. She gives a brief overview of why we should also use technology whenever and however we can: because our students use it daily and will need technological skills to succeed in the 21st century. Next, Mulholland gives examples as to how YAL can be used in non-literature classes.
Art: Makerspaces DIY projects and Daniel Older’s novel Shadowshaper Business Education: Digital badges and Gary Paulson’s Lawn Boy ELA: I’ll Give You The Sun and 3D printing of some of the artwork mentioned in the novel Health: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman deals with teen mental illness; wearable technology, such as fitbits, can help track students’ stress levels and document their mental and physical health History: Stella By Starlight by Sharon Draper deals with the Great Depression, the KKK, the unwritten rules that govern a society. BYOD allows students to have access to the internet for in-class research projects and not have to schedule a time to go to the computer lab Science: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynmann!, is a non-fiction YA book with an autobiographical feel. Written by the award winning physicist Richard Feynmann, this text tells stories from his personal life and how they relate to science, in particular the chapter on the Manhattan Project. This book could be taught in conjunction with a flipped classroom allowing students to work together in class on experiments related to Mr. Feynmann’s life.
Take aways:
I enjoyed how a YAL book was appropriately paired with each non-literature subject.
I also enjoyed the different ways to include technology was discussed. Some of these (like 3D printing) don’t seem feasible for most classrooms, but it helps to serve as a springboard for other ideas that are achievable.
I hate science but Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Freynmann!, sounds awesome! I will definitely have to add that to my classroom library.
Why is there no discussion on math? There are absolutely YAL books about math and interesting ways to use technology in a math classroom!
I think the most important take away is cross-content area integration. Using YAL novels in every subject will only work if every teacher is on board and understand why it’s important to continue to teach reading and writing skills outside of English class. They are arguably the most important skills a person could have in the 21st century and they need to be continually cultivated to ensure students are truly learning and growing.
For November 9:
One of the first things that always comes up when talking about technology in the classroom is how wonderful and multimodal powerpoint is. While it can be wonderful and multimodal, 9 times out of 10 it's not. It's merely words on the screen that students are expected to copy down and memorize. I hate that. As a learner, that's not engaging to me; it's very passive. I'm not against using presentations in class but they certainly won't be the only thing I have the kids do that day, because there's nothing for students to do with powerpoints.
Class blogs are an interesting idea, but in some case I think they're better suited for online classes than in person classes. Another major concern with blogs (and with technology in general) is student privacy. On the one hand, I want my kids to have a safe online place to learn. On the other hand, and especially with blogs, you can't be completely private and interact with people outside of the class. If you want kids to follow and comment on author's blogs, that won't be private at all. That's a big issue to take into consideration and ultimately, I believe the decision lies with parents.
The more we read and discuss technology in the classroom, the more frustrated I get. My placement school is in a rough part of town. The school isn't equipped with all of this technology and half the students don't have their own devices to bring to school. Most of the time, the only access to the internet kids have at home is on mom or dad's cellphone. I want to use technology in this setting. I want to show my CT how technology was meant to make her job and life 1000 times easier, that it isn't all that complicated to use or set up. But we don't have technology to implement and we aren't getting any before I start student teaching in January. I wanted to have the students do their final assignment on the computer but that means booking the computer lab for at least a week straight (A-B scheduling), if not more. I want someone to talk about how to reasonably use technology in a classroom or school that doesn't have any.
For November 16:
I didn't do much research and inquiry until college. In middle school, we had to participate in the social studies/social science project every year which was supposed to be a research project but no one ever taught us how to research for it. College was when I really learned how to research, how to research smarter, and honed my paper-writing system. I read chapter 16, “Pushing the Edge of Possibility: A New Look at Integrating Technologies with Young Adult Literature Across COntent Areas” from Teaching Young Adult Literature. Mulholland makes the point that YAL, while traditionally used in the ELA classroom, would be beneficial across grade levels and content areas. She states that, “reading and building literacy skills [are] central to learning,” so we should encourage and teach these skills across content areas through YAL novels. She gives a brief overview of why we should also use technology whenever and however we can: because our students use it daily and will need technological skills to succeed in the 21st century. Next, Mulholland gives examples as to how YAL can be used in non-literature classes.
Art: Makerspaces DIY projects and Daniel Older’s novel Shadowshaper Business Education: Digital badges and Gary Paulson’s Lawn Boy ELA:I’ll Give You The Sun and 3D printing of some of the artwork mentioned in the novel Health:Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman deals with teen mental illness; wearable technology, such as fitbits, can help track students’ stress levels and document their mental and physical health History:Stella By Starlight by Sharon Draper deals with the Great Depression, the KKK, the unwritten rules that govern a society. BYOD allows students to have access to the internet for in-class research projects and not have to schedule a time to go to the computer lab Science:Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynmann!, is a non-fiction YA book with an autobiographical feel. Written by the award winning physicist Richard Feynmann, this text tells stories from his personal life and how they relate to science, in particular the chapter on the Manhattan Project. This book could be taught in conjunction with a flipped classroom allowing students to work together in class on experiments related to Mr. Feynmann’s life.
Take aways:
I enjoyed how a YAL book was appropriately paired with each non-literature subject.
I also enjoyed the different ways to include technology was discussed. Some of these (like 3D printing) don’t seem feasible for most classrooms, but it helps to serve as a springboard for other ideas that are achievable.
I hate science but Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Freynmann!, sounds awesome! I will definitely have to add that to my classroom library.
Why is there no discussion on math? There are absolutely YAL books about math and interesting ways to use technology in a math classroom!
I think the most important take away is cross-content area integration. Using YAL novels in every subject will only work if every teacher is on board and understand why it’s important to continue to teach reading and writing skills outside of English class. They are arguably the most important skills a person could have in the 21st century and they need to be continually cultivated to ensure students are truly learning and growing.
For August 24
Bushman pre-reading:
I think young adult literature is literature written for teenagers about teenagers.
After reading:
The term "teenager" is very broad and what is acceptable for an 18-year-old to read is not necessarily appropriate for a 12-year-old to read. I like how Bushman explains Kohlberg's and Piaget's theories as being intertwined, as if they are different sides of the same coin. Teenagers will experience intellectual, emotional, and moral growth but every person will not experience this growth the same way or at the same time.
Comment: So, how are you defining young adult literature then? Keep in mind that the term young adult -- adolescent -- is somewhat distinct from teenager. I think you're wise to realize that developmental levels described in B & H are important, along with the levels of literary appreciation. I look forward to seeing how your define YAL and also to how your definition evolves over the semester. Best, Dr. Y
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
I've never read a graphic novel before because the pictures always distracted me. In a way that still happens. I want to skip over the "action scenes" and jump straight to the normal words on the page.
This story is awesome and hilarious. The Monkey King has some incredible sass face going on. In one square he reminds me of Mojojojo from the Power Puff Girls tv show. Everyone is so dramatic, too. The older Chinese lady at the herbalist's store deadpans when she says, "Anyone can be what they want as long as you forfeit your soul." Who says those kinds of things to a child? But on other hand, she's right in a way. But I can tell from his facial expression the young boy is thinking about it in a literal sense, not a metaphorical sense.
The way the teacher introduces him to the class by calling him a different name, saying he came "ALL the way from China" is terrible. But it's true. A lot of people think of Asians in that light. And the fact that he and the only other person who wasn't mainstream-American-white had to avoid each other was depressing.
Comment: Gene's novel is so, so brilliant -- the interwoven stories that -- as you suggest -- can seems so simplistic on one level, but are actually quite sophisticated in getting at the American born Chinese YA experience. I hope you enjoy the rest of the book and seek out another graphic narrative to add to your book list!
Comment: Not seeing your response(s) to the history of YAL reading and prompts...
For September 7
Pre-reading: I usually choose what to read based on genre and similarities to authors I've read in the past. But if I'm reading something not a part of my favorite genre, I take several things into consideration. If I'm at a physical bookstore (like Barnes and Noble), where and how is the book being displayed? Is it up front when you first walk in, or on a shelf prominently displayed alongside well-know authors? (Similar to the "If you liked X, you'll love these books"). I'll also look it up on amazon and read reviews before buying it (and checking to see if I can get it cheaper on my kindle). Sometimes the cover sticks out; the artwork is nicely done or different in some way. For others, the snippet on the back of the book or inside cover is really intriguing. If I don't finish reading the little snippet, I won't buy the book at all. Once I've decided to read the book, I have to be reeled in, hook, line, and sinker, within the first chapter or so. For example, my husband and I decided to read the Wheel of Time series. The prologue was amazing. It grabs your attention right from the beginning and you have so many questions that all demand answers so you keep reading. Who is this guy? Is he some god? He has some kind of magical powers, but what kind? Did he kill his wife? Does she come back to life again?? Why is there suddenly a feud going on?? But then you get to the first chapter and all of that is lost. I couldn't make it through the first chapter because the author had completely changed gears topically and in his writing style. Now, he was focusing on some no-named farmer (you literally do not find out his name in the first chapter) and his journey to...God know's where. It's full of minute details of the scenery of a dirt road of all places. The most useless first chapter I've ever had the misfortune to meet. I'm completely turned off from the rest of the series even though I know it's supposed to brilliant and one of my favorite authors finished the stories when Robert Jordan passed away. A book can't gain my trust and then betray it in the first chapter like that. Bad form, Jordan. Very bad form.
Post-reading: When choosing books for my students, I don't want to find books that I like, but books that resonate with them. Just because I enjoy a book or get something out of it, doesn't mean my students will. I think looking at books from a middle schooler's perspective will be hard for me, at least until I get to know my students. But I hope they will give me clues as to what they enjoy or offer suggestions as to what we could read/learn about. I normally choose books to read because I want to relax and escape real life; I end up reading a lot of fantasy novels. But teenagers are in a different stage of life and want more realist stories to show them they aren't alone in the world, that someone else is going through the same problems as they are, and possibly show them ways to handle anything going on in their lives. It's important to first realize why students read before deciding what they will read.
Comment: I wouldn't discount teenagers wanting to read to read fantasy and to escape reality as well -- I don't think that is limited to adults! It was a motivation for me -- to escape a very dysfunctional family situation, and I know that is true for many young adults -- fantasy is one of the most popular and best-selling genres. Along with wanting to realize why students read, I think you're going to want to prepare yourself for why students DON'T read. And, along with that, prepare yourself for how you're going to try and change that -- in other words, how are you going to create the terms for them to want to read and to provide good models and options for them to choose to read.
For September 14:
This is probably going to be controversial, but I disagree with both the authors' goal of the ELA classroom and Rosenblatt's theory (to a degree). It's not my job to make my students love literature and turn them into reading machines. If that happens, great! But, realistically, I know that not everyone loves reading or writing and while I can teach these students, I won't necessarily be able to make them lovers of literature. As for Rosenblatt, she's right in the sense that everyone brings something different to the table when reading a book, but we can't let these experiences or emotions overpower the author's intent. But as long as our interpretations aren't off-the-wall, we're fairly safe. I liked all of the classroom strategies mentioned as ways to elicit responses from students, particularly the Socratic circles and role-playing/acting out scenes. Activities like these get students, especially middle schoolers, out of their seats and moving around, which helps them engage more.
Comment: I hope you'll come to reconsider your job as you describe it above. If it is not the job of an ELA teacher to help students develop a love of reading and writing then whose job is it? Whether you want to be or not, you're going to be faced with the reality of motivating students to want to read and write -- reader response is the place to start with helping cultivate that motivation. Without it, there is no real transaction between the reader and the text, and if it is just the text that is held up as what is important, what buy in does a student have? Especially if they have not had the benefit of a home situation in which reading and writing have been valued prior to their showing up in your class? ELA teachers need to provide the way in for students, and reading and writing -- literacy -- is the way in for students when we think of their becoming a critical thinker, empowered human being, and productive member -- active member -- of a democratic society. So, if not that, what is the goal of the ELA classroom?
Reply: I wasn't clear about my opinion of reader response theory. I understand that it's like everyone reading the same text with different colored glasses. It's going to look different to me with my blue lenses than it will to you with your green ones. And that's fine and helpful. What I want to stay away from is trying to pull something out of the text that isn't there just because I want it to be there. For example, I had a teacher in high school who swore that William Carlos Williams' poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" was somehow about Jesus because we were in the deep rural South where everything was some how about Jesus even if it wasn't. He was one of those teachers who tested us on our knowledge of his opinion and when we tried to argue that perhaps the poem isn't about Jesus because Jesus isn't anywhere in that text, he shut us down. Reader response theory is fine as long as we don't put Jesus somewhere He clearly isn't. That's all I meant.
As to the goal of the ELA classroom, my view still stands, especially now that I'm in an actual ELA classroom. It's not realistic to assume all of my students will love reading and I don't think it's very realistic to think that many of them will leave my classroom loving it. Do I hope that my efforts will grow them as readers and writers? Yes. Do I hope they at least enjoy my class? Yes. Will I do my best to offer them books and assignments that are more their style? Yes. Does that mean that will make them all head-over-heels in love with reading? Not necessarily. My personal goal as an ELA teacher is to show them that reading and writing are the two most important things they will ever learn in school, that they are crucial to our 21st century world, and that they need to be able to use them well in order to accurately communicate with other people. In doing that, I want to teach them critical thinking skills, how to communicate effectively, and open their minds to viewpoints they haven't seen before. If, at the end of all of that, they walk away loving reading, great! If not, my feelings won't be hurt.
For September 21:
In middle school, I remember reading The Diary of Anne Frank, Kidnapped, The Clay Marble, and a book I've forgotten the name of, but it was about a boy who got caught humming during the national anthem. He lied and said he was humming along, and it erupted in his face. There was a big trial, and eventually he moved to a new school where the kids sang the national anthem every morning; he finally admitted he didn't know the words. Kidnapped was awful because no one could understand the older language it was written in. For The Clay Marble, we made pop-up books, but I remember wondering why we were making them. I've forgotten the activities that went with the other books we read (along with the other books we read; these were all from seventh grade). Looking back on these books, almost all of them could be categorized as YA books, but I didn't get much out of them. I honestly learned more from the books I read on my own than I did the ones we read for class, and a big part of that was the fact that I read them for me. Nobody was forcing me to read or discuss or pick them apart. I read books like The Giver, The Hero and the Crown, The Blue Sword, and A Child Called It series all on my own. Those were the books that changed me, that made me love reading, and eventually pursue teaching. Remembering my own experience in school, I want my students to have a different view of the classroom. I want them to have choice, either through the curriculum or as an outside-of-class reading. I want to give them opportunities to read and research topics that deal with problems they're going through, answer real life questions with real life answers, and show them that they can enact change no matter how old (or young) they are. I like the idea of using thematic units because I can incorporate many different genres and authors who all deal with the same issue, giving my students variety in what they read. As for activities, anything that gets them up and moving around will be helpful. Middle schoolers especially don't last long sitting at a desk so they can move around in groups, build board games, act out scenes or film a commercial for their text.
For September 28:
We did more reading that writing when I was growing up. I vaguely remember a few writing assignments in middle school, one specifically on Anne Frank, but that was about it. These were in-class assignments and they weren't workshopped. There wasn't any feedback given so we could edit or revise. In my AP 12th lit class, we were simply given a score of 1-9 (based on how our essays would be scored on the AP exam), but that's it. Timed, in-class writing with just a number. I understand that teachers are busy and have a lot of papers to grade, but if you're going to give a writing assignment, you have to give me something other than a grade. Grades don't help me learn; they're just an arbitrary number that could mean anything to the teacher. I need context for that grade, and that comes in the form of feedback. I didn't learn how to interact with a text properly or how to write until college. I'm amazed I've made it this far in my academic career.
For November 2: Chapter 16 from Teaching Young Adult Literature:
I read chapter 16, “Pushing the Edge of Possibility: A New Look at Integrating Technologies with Young Adult Literature Across Content Areas” from Teaching Young Adult Literature. Mulholland makes the point that YAL, while traditionally used in the ELA classroom, would be beneficial across grade levels and content areas. She states that, “reading and building literacy skills [are] central to learning,” so we should encourage and teach these skills across content areas through YAL novels. She gives a brief overview of why we should also use technology whenever and however we can: because our students use it daily and will need technological skills to succeed in the 21st century. Next, Mulholland gives examples as to how YAL can be used in non-literature classes.
Art: Makerspaces DIY projects and Daniel Older’s novel Shadowshaper
Business Education: Digital badges and Gary Paulson’s Lawn Boy
ELA: I’ll Give You The Sun and 3D printing of some of the artwork mentioned in the novel
Health: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman deals with teen mental illness; wearable technology, such as fitbits, can help track students’ stress levels and document their mental and physical health
History: Stella By Starlight by Sharon Draper deals with the Great Depression, the KKK, the unwritten rules that govern a society. BYOD allows students to have access to the internet for in-class research projects and not have to schedule a time to go to the computer lab
Science: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynmann!, is a non-fiction YA book with an autobiographical feel. Written by the award winning physicist Richard Feynmann, this text tells stories from his personal life and how they relate to science, in particular the chapter on the Manhattan Project. This book could be taught in conjunction with a flipped classroom allowing students to work together in class on experiments related to Mr. Feynmann’s life.
Take aways:
For November 9:
One of the first things that always comes up when talking about technology in the classroom is how wonderful and multimodal powerpoint is. While it can be wonderful and multimodal, 9 times out of 10 it's not. It's merely words on the screen that students are expected to copy down and memorize. I hate that. As a learner, that's not engaging to me; it's very passive. I'm not against using presentations in class but they certainly won't be the only thing I have the kids do that day, because there's nothing for students to do with powerpoints.
Class blogs are an interesting idea, but in some case I think they're better suited for online classes than in person classes. Another major concern with blogs (and with technology in general) is student privacy. On the one hand, I want my kids to have a safe online place to learn. On the other hand, and especially with blogs, you can't be completely private and interact with people outside of the class. If you want kids to follow and comment on author's blogs, that won't be private at all. That's a big issue to take into consideration and ultimately, I believe the decision lies with parents.
The more we read and discuss technology in the classroom, the more frustrated I get. My placement school is in a rough part of town. The school isn't equipped with all of this technology and half the students don't have their own devices to bring to school. Most of the time, the only access to the internet kids have at home is on mom or dad's cellphone. I want to use technology in this setting. I want to show my CT how technology was meant to make her job and life 1000 times easier, that it isn't all that complicated to use or set up. But we don't have technology to implement and we aren't getting any before I start student teaching in January. I wanted to have the students do their final assignment on the computer but that means booking the computer lab for at least a week straight (A-B scheduling), if not more. I want someone to talk about how to reasonably use technology in a classroom or school that doesn't have any.
For November 16:
I didn't do much research and inquiry until college. In middle school, we had to participate in the social studies/social science project every year which was supposed to be a research project but no one ever taught us how to research for it. College was when I really learned how to research, how to research smarter, and honed my paper-writing system.
I read chapter 16, “Pushing the Edge of Possibility: A New Look at Integrating Technologies with Young Adult Literature Across COntent Areas” from Teaching Young Adult Literature. Mulholland makes the point that YAL, while traditionally used in the ELA classroom, would be beneficial across grade levels and content areas. She states that, “reading and building literacy skills [are] central to learning,” so we should encourage and teach these skills across content areas through YAL novels. She gives a brief overview of why we should also use technology whenever and however we can: because our students use it daily and will need technological skills to succeed in the 21st century. Next, Mulholland gives examples as to how YAL can be used in non-literature classes.
Art: Makerspaces DIY projects and Daniel Older’s novel Shadowshaper
Business Education: Digital badges and Gary Paulson’s Lawn Boy
ELA:I’ll Give You The Sun and 3D printing of some of the artwork mentioned in the novel
Health:Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman deals with teen mental illness; wearable technology, such as fitbits, can help track students’ stress levels and document their mental and physical health
History:Stella By Starlight by Sharon Draper deals with the Great Depression, the KKK, the unwritten rules that govern a society. BYOD allows students to have access to the internet for in-class research projects and not have to schedule a time to go to the computer lab
Science:Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynmann!, is a non-fiction YA book with an autobiographical feel. Written by the award winning physicist Richard Feynmann, this text tells stories from his personal life and how they relate to science, in particular the chapter on the Manhattan Project. This book could be taught in conjunction with a flipped classroom allowing students to work together in class on experiments related to Mr. Feynmann’s life.
Take aways: